The Last Stand

The Last Stand. Mill Springs Battlefield. , The Confederates west of the road fled in disarray after the 9th Ohio Infantry executed a successful bayonet charge. The pursuing Federals turned the tide on the east side of the road and the entire Confederate line broke. The 16th Alabama Infantry stood firm against the surging Federals here, on "Last Stand Hill." Their determined resistance allowed the beaten Confederate army to escape. , Held in Reserve , The 16th Alabama commanded by Colonel William B. Wood, a Methodist minister, had held their ground south of the battle all morning. Wood watched the action unfold while his regiment, one of only two armed with modern weapons, stood in reserve. Bullets whizzed around the men numbed by the cold, wet weather. The constant smoke and noise of battle kept them on edge, as they waited for two hours for orders. , Colonel Wood Makes a Stand , As the Confederate line fell apart, General William Carroll ordered the 16th Alabama to move forward. Wood moved the regiment to the crest of the hill and saw the Union line marching toward him. Confederate soldiers rushed to the rear knowing that all that stood between them and disaster was Col. Wood's 330 men. , Wood ordered the men "to stand their position and meet the enemy, drive him back or die in their tracks. "Rallying several companies of the 29th Tennessee, Wood made a stand. The regiment fired a volley, retreated a short distance behind a rail fence, and fired again. How long they held is unclear, but this small detachment stalled the Union pursuit. They created a gap that allowed the bulk of the Confederate army to escape capture. , Inset portrait: The regiments ... continued to hold the enemy at bay, slowly retiring from the field now lost to us. , General William Carroll, C.S.